Panglossian
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of Panglossian
First recorded in 1825–35; after Pangloss, an optimistic character in Voltaire's Candide; compare Greek panglossía “garrulousness, wordiness” ( see pan-, glosso-, -y 3); see -ian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Of course, there are limits to taking a Panglossian attitude and psyching ourselves up in the face of challenges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
If we think it is, it’s simply Panglossian logic: It must be the best of all possible worlds!
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 16, 2021
Of all the euphemisms the Times has used for "pathological lying," "Panglossian dismissiveness" maybe the the Times-iest.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2020
In the gloom of the Great Depression — the unemployment rate was 25 percent as Roosevelt took office — the 32nd president was reassuring but far from Panglossian.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2020
He was quite disembarrassed of that Panglossian philosophy which had hitherto induced him to believe that the Earl of Fitz-pompey was the best of all possible uncles.
From The Young Duke by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
